Air Traffic Control data links presently use two generally incompatible technologies, Future Air Navigation System (FANS), which is used in oceanic and remote airspace, and Aeronautical Telecommunications Network (ATN), which is used in continental Europe and potentially in other congested domestic environments. Typically, an aircraft system is either equipped with the FANS data link technology and associated operator interface, or the ATN data link technology and associated operator interface.
Although desirable results have been achieved using such prior art systems, there may be room for improvement. For example, the current ability to implement just a single data link technology on an aircraft means that air traffic control over the aircraft can only be transferred between air traffic control centers that utilize the same data link technology. Therefore, novel systems and methods that allow the utilization of a plurality of different (air traffic control) ATC data link technologies on a single aircraft, as well as novel systems and methods that facilitate the automated transfer of air traffic control over an aircraft between ATC centers that utilize different data link technologies would be highly desirable.